gta sa : Marketing and release

by Jake_Karl Thu May 15, 2014 3:44 am

Film[edit]
The Introduction, an in-engine video, was provided on a DVD with the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Soundtrack, as well as the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition re-release for the PlayStation 2. The 26-minute video chronicles the events leading up to the events in San Andreas and provides insight on the development of the characters of the game, to the point when Carl learns of his mother's death in a phone call from Sweet and returns to Los Santos to find his life is ruined. The game incorporates locations from the original Grand Theft Auto III game. The PS2 release also includes a live-action documentary on the custom car culture (featured prominently in the game) called Sunday Driver.

Soundtrack[edit]
Main articles: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Soundtrack and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Soundtrack Box Set
As with the previous two entries in the Grand Theft Auto series, San Andreas has an exhaustive number of tracks taken from the time period in which the game is based.

San Andreas is serviced by eleven radio stations; WCTR (talk radio), Master Sounds 98.3 (rare groove, playing many of the old funk and soul tracks sampled by 1990s hip-hop artists), K-Jah West (dub and reggae; modeled after K-Jah from GTA III), CSR (New Jack Swing, Modern Soul), Radio X (alternative rock, metal and grunge), Radio Los Santos (gangsta rap), SF-UR (old school Chicago house music), Bounce FM (funk), K-DST (classic rock), K-Rose (country) and Playback FM (classic hip hop).

The music system in San Andreas is enhanced from previous titles. In earlier in the series, each radio station was essentially a single looped sound file, playing the same songs, announcements and advertisements in the same order each time. In San Andreas, each section is held separately, and "mixed" randomly, allowing songs to be played in different orders, announcements to songs to be different each time, and plot events to be mentioned on the stations. This system would be used in Grand Theft Auto IV. WCTR, rather than featuring licensed music and DJs, features spoken word performances by actors such as Andy Dick performing as talk show hosts and listener callers in a parody of talk radio programming.

Lazlow again plays as himself on the show "Entertaining America" on WCTR in the same persona as in III and Vice City. He takes over after the former presenter, Billy Dexter, is shot on air by in-game film star Jack Howitzer. Lazlow interviews guests such as O.G. Loc, who is one of the four characters Carl encounters during the game that is on the radio, along with Big Smoke, Mad Dogg, and The Truth.

The Xbox, iOS, and Windows versions of the game include an additional radio station that supports custom soundtracks by playing user imported MP3s, allowing players to listen to their own music while playing the game. This feature is not available on the PlayStation 2 version of the game or when played on the Xbox 360.[17]

Reception[edit]
Awards
IGN's Best of 2004 PlayStation 2 Game of the Year,[18] Best PlayStation 2 Action Game,[19] Best Story for PlayStation 2[20]
GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2004 Best PlayStation 2 Game,[21] Best Action Adventure Game,[22] Readers' Choice — Best PlayStation 2 Action Adventure Game,[23] Readers' Choice — PlayStation 2 Game of the Year,[24] Best Voice Acting,[25] Funniest Game[26]
2004 Spike TV Video Game Awards Game of the Year, Best Performance by a Human (Male), Best Action Game, Best Soundtrack
Upon its release, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was met with universal critical acclaim, with many calling it one of the PlayStation 2's best games. It received an average review score of 95%, according to Metacritic, tying for the fifth-highest ranked game in PlayStation 2 history.[27] IGN rated the game a 9.9/10 (the highest score it has ever awarded to a PlayStation 2 game), calling it "the defining piece of software" for the PlayStation 2.[13] GameSpot rated the game 9.6/10, giving it an Editor's Choice award. GameSpot said "San Andreas definitely lives up to the Grand Theft Auto name. In fact, it's arguably the best game in the series".[8] San Andreas also received an A rating from the 1UP.com network[28] and a 10/10 score from Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Common praises were made about the game's open-endedness, the size of the state of San Andreas, and the engaging storyline and voice acting. Most criticisms of the game stemmed from graphical mishaps, poor character models, and low-resolution textures, as well as various control issues, particularly with auto-aiming at enemies. Some critics commented that while a lot of new content had been added to San Andreas, little of it had been refined or implemented well.[29] Nevertheless, since its release, San Andreas has been regarded to be one of the greatest games of all time, placing at number 28 in Edge's Top 100 Games to Play Today. Edge declared that the game remains "the ultimate expression of freedom, before next-gen reined it all back in."[30] Jack Thompson criticized San Andreas for its violence and sex scenes. Thompson even called San Andreas a "cop killer simulator".

Sales and commercial success[edit]
By 3 March 2005, the game had sold over 12 million units for the PlayStation 2 alone, making it the highest selling game for PlayStation 2.[31] As of 26 September 2007, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has sold 20 million units according to Take-Two Interactive.[32] As of 26 March 2008, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has sold 21.5 million units according to Take-Two Interactive.[33] The Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition lists it as the most successful PlayStation 2 game, with 17.33 million copies sold for that console alone, from a total of 21.5 million in all formats.[16] In 2011, Kotaku reported that according to Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has sold 27.5 million copies worldwide.[34]